Freight Forwarders’ Election, Shippers Council Must Intervene

TAYO OLADIPUPO I

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has been called upon to call the Registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Sir Mike Jukwe to order in the way he is going about the conduct of the upcoming elections into its Council.
Nigerian Institute of Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers (NIFFCB) National President , Nebulon Ikokide expressed fears that all the elective positions might be occupied by the bigger associations under the regulation of the Council, leaving the smaller ones not to get any position which according to him could lead to rancour.
“The Registrar does not listen to reasons and advice; he does whatever he likes without input from the sizeable and critical stakeholders. At this juncture, we think that the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC) should not stay aloof; they should come out and assist to call the Registrar to order.

“The NSC midwifed the CRFFN from its infant stage to this level, therefore, they have the right to come in and correct some of the abnormalities they created under Capt. Adamu Biu and that of the present Registrar.

“We opine that the Registrar is bereft of ideas, due to old age, as he is due for retirement by September 2018, if this record has not been tampered with by now. For the election, I will suggest the following:

“Allocate five number of persons to each of the big Associations i.e. NAGAFF/ANLCA, allocate one number of person to the smaller Associations,
Allocate two slots of position to CRFFN training arm-Nigerian Institute of Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers and then the CRFFN goes to each Association and elect those numbers to represent them in the Governing Council.
Ikokide argued that, only the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) were partially contacted as other smaller associations were not carried along in the process of the election.

Other associations duly registered to participate in the election include; Association of Registered Freight Forwarders on Nigeria (AREFFN), National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) and National Association of Freight Forwarders and Air Consolidators (NAFFAC).

He however warned that should the election be conducted as planned, NAGAFF which has registered between 2,000 to 3,000 persons may sweep most of the positions thereby making the election one-sided.

“If the CRFFN Election goes the way the Registrar is planning now, it will be one – sided and the reason for the establishment of the CRFFN will be thrown overboard.

“The CRFFN was established to integrate the Freight Forwarders to speak with one voice. The first Council became a flop due to the control of one Association membership and all other Freight Forwarders were left outside. This election if not properly handled, only one Association especially NAGAFF will take control due to the fact that they have registered a lot of individual members well over 2,000 – 3,000. And if this happens then we will go back to square one.”